| Wednesday, March 01, 2006 |
| Democracy versus Republic - Part 2 of 2 |
OK, back to the much-anticipated Liberty 101 series. You can find part one below or here. In part one of the two-part series I defined "democracy". In part two, I hope to focus on what defines a republic and how the difference between it and a democracy is important today.
Again, democracy literally means the ruling of the majority. In a country with kind and compassionate citizens, democracy could be a good thing. But anyone can read the history of human nature and find it filled with evil deeds. Alexander Hamilton wrote the following concerning democracy: It has been observed that a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies, in which the people themselves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good government. Their very character was tyranny: Their figure deformity. The United States has been called the "Great Experiment in self-government." The experiment is to answer the question, "Can self-governing people coexist and prevail over government agencies that have no authority over the People?" In a democracy, the sovereignty lies in the whole body of the free citizens. But in our republic, the sovereignty resides in the people themselves -- one or many. We can act on our own or elect representatives to solve a problem. However, our representatives (who we "hire" and work for us) perform tasks under the rule of law, specifically, the Constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution gives our representatives specific directions. They are to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
Because of the rule of law, lawmaking in a republic is a slow and deliberate process. There is no mob laying down the law of the day. Our republic rests balanced on a three-branch system, with each branch designed to keep the others in check. The legislators make the laws. The executive officers enforce and administer those laws. And the judiciary decides whether the imposition of these laws are proper, and in agreement with the “contract” between the people and government known as the Constitution.
How does the difference between a democracy and republic affect us today? John Adams writes, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." Nothing in our Constitution comes close to suggesting that government grants rights. In fact, the Constitution recognizes that Congress is the greatest threat to our rights. It uses negative phrases against Congress like: shall not abridge, infringe, deny, disparage, and shall not be violated, nor be denied. Instead, government is a protector of rights.
For a very recent debate about an undemocratic mechanism, look at the criticism of the Electoral College. Our founding fathers gave us the Electoral College so large, heavily populated states could not run over small, slightly populated ones.
Dr. Walter E. Williams, Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, writes this: Here's my question: Do Americans share the republican values laid out by our founders, and is it simply a matter of our being unschooled about the differences between a republic and a democracy? Or is it a matter of preference and we now want the kind of tyranny feared by the founders where Congress can do anything it can muster a majority vote to do? I fear it's the latter. Next in the Liberty 101 series: Rule of Man versus Rule of Law. |
posted by Joe Napalm @ 9:01 PM   |
|
| 1 Comments: |
-
I am glad that the founders understood human nature and sought to protect our country by creating the republic. I wonder sometimes if the political system and the politicians have figured out the laziness of the majority and pacify the weak only to gain and maintain their positions? What I mean is are we seeing more and more of a "if it doesn't directly effect me then I don't care" mentality? So you have 60% plus of registered voters bowing out of their rights because they are comfortable, don't care, cynical? I have a hard time lately with the lack of leadership on both sides of the republic and wonder where all of this politicking is heading.
|
| |
| << Home |
| |
|
|
|
|
I am glad that the founders understood human nature and sought to protect our country by creating the republic. I wonder sometimes if the political system and the politicians have figured out the laziness of the majority and pacify the weak only to gain and maintain their positions? What I mean is are we seeing more and more of a "if it doesn't directly effect me then I don't care" mentality? So you have 60% plus of registered voters bowing out of their rights because they are comfortable, don't care, cynical? I have a hard time lately with the lack of leadership on both sides of the republic and wonder where all of this politicking is heading.